Packaging of wire



F. B. KRAF'FT ETAL PACKAGING OF WIRE-Q Oct. 21, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed March 1. 1955 VENTORS. KRAFFT OBERTS FEDERIO TTORNEYS Oct. 21,1958- Y F. B. KRAFFI' EIITAL 2,857,116

v PACKAGING 01-" WIRE Filed march 1. 1955 i v s Sheets-Sheet 2 1INVENTORS.

FREDERIO B. KRAFFT BY FRANK K. ROBERTS LEO LORENZ ATTORNEYS Oct. 21,1958 i F. B. KRAFFT- ETAL.

' PACKAGING OFWIRE 5 Sheets-Sheet :5

Filed March 1. 1955 INVENTORS. FREDERIC B. KRAFFT BY FRANK K. ROBERTSQFJ I I v E. mm w T f Nb MN 00 5 mm z. T 2 B. Al x 8 5 LEO LORENZ (2wEML w. @312;

ATTORNEYS United States atent O PACKAGING F WIRE Frederic B. Kralfh Frank K. Roberts, and Leo Lorenz, Mnskegon, Mich., assignors to AnacondaWire and Cable Company, a corporation of Delaware Application March 1,1955, Serial No. 491,258

6 Claims. (Cl. 242-83) This invention relates to the packing of wire orother filamentary material. More particularly, it relates to thepackaging of such material in a cylindrical container in which thematerial is coiled about a cylindrical core positioned in the containerso as to form an annular space between the core and the walls of thecontainer. While the present invention is applicable in general tomaterials in filamentary form (e. g. cordage, textile fibers), we havefound it to be especially well suited to the packing of wire, and theinvention is therefore particularly described in reference to thepackaging of wire.

Heretofore, flanged spools comprising a cylindrical core or barrelprovided with end flanges have been commonly used for packaging wire andthe like. The Wire is wound more or less helically about the spoolbarrel between the end flanges, which hold the wire in place and protectit from injury. It is also known to package wire in a cylindricalcontainer having a cylindrical core positioned therein so that anannular space is formed in the container. In such a container, the wireheretofore has been loosely and more or less randomly coiled about thecore in the annular space, and has not been well distributed over thewidth of the annular space of the container.

The use of a cylindrical container for packaging wire offers theadvantage that it is feasible to package large quantities of wire, e. g.hundreds of pounds, in a single length, whereas such large quantitiescannot be conveniently packaged on a metal spool. More wire per packageis a feature which is of interest to operators of automatic coil windersand similar equipment, as it results in less time being consumed inreadying packages of wire for use, and it reduces the amount of timerequired for setting up the machines (an operation which generally mustbe performed each time a package is exhausted). Another advantage ofsuch a package over the flanged spool is that less expensive materialsmay be used in the construction of a cylindrical container. Thus, asuitable container may comprise a cylindrical fibrehoard barrel having afibreboard cylinder for the core, whereas large flanged spools must beconstructed wholly of heavy gauge metal, or of wood and metal, and arerelatively expensive.

The present invention provides a package of filamentary material (e. g.bare, insulated or stranded wire, cordage, or the like) comprising acylindrical container in which a cylindrical core is coaxiallypositioned so as to form an annular space between the core and thewallsof thecontainer. The material is coiled in open, substantiallyflat, spiral layers, and substantially fills this annular space. Thepackage of the invention has the advantages that more material iscontained in a cylindrical container of given size, and that thelikelihood of entanglement of the material when it is unwound issubstantially reduced.

The present invention also provides a method and apparatus whereby apackage of filamentary material according to the invention may be made.Heretofore, such material has commonly been packaged in cylindricalcontainers by feeding the material at a constant linear velocity intothe container while rotating the container at a 2,857,116 Patented Oct.21, 19 58 form of a stack of substantially flat spiral coils disposedoneover the other. This method comprises feeding the material into thecontainer, rotating the container at a peripheral velocity which at alltimes exceeds the linear.

velocity at which the material is fed into the container, andalternately increasing and decreasing the ratio of the rate at which thecontainer is rotated and the rate at which the material is fed into thecontainer. By this method the material is spirally coiled in thecontainer in the form of a stack of substantially flat superposedlayers. The rate at which the material is fed into the container may bevaried while the'rate of rotation of the container is maintainedconstant, or the rate at which the material is fed into the containermay be maintained constant while the rate of rotation of the containeris varied. Of course, both of these rates may be varied, but ordinarilythere will be no advantage in operating in this manner;

According to a preferred embodiment of thfrhethod of the invention thematerial is fed into the container at a substantially constant linearvelocity, and the container is rotated at a peripheral velocity which atall times exceeds the linear velocity at which the wire, is fed into thecontainer (i. e. the peripheral velocity of the inside surface of thecylindrical container wall at all times exceeds the linear velocity atwhich the wire is fed into the container) and the rate of rotation ofthe container is cyclically varied by alternately increasing said rateat an increasing rate of increase and decreasing said rate at adecreasing rate of decrease. Thereby, spiral coils are obtained in whichthe turns thereof are substantially evenly spaced.

When the rate at which the. material is fed into the container is variedand the rate of rotation of the container is maintained constant, wehave discovered that best results are realized if the rate at which thematerial is-fed into the barrel is cyclically varied by alternatelyincreasing said rate at a uniform (i. e. constant) rate of increase anddecreasing said rate at a uniform (i. e. constant) rate of decrease. v

The apparatus of the invention provides a device for packagingfilamentary material in a cylindrical container in the form of asuccession of substantially flat spiral coils. The apparatus comprisesfeeder means for feeding the material into the container, a containercarrier adapted to support the container with the axis of the containersubstantially vertical, container rotating means for rotating thecontainer on the carrier about the axis of the container, and a variablespeed drive adapted to cyclically increase and decrease the ratio of therate at which the container is rotated and the rate at which thematerial is fed into the container. 1

The present invention may be better understood by reference to thefollowing drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is an elevation in partial section of a package of wire accordingto the invention; 7

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the package of wire shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view on an enlarged scale taken along line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig- 4 is a schematic drawing of an embodiment of the apparatus of theinvention;

Fig. 5 is a schematic drawing of another embodiment of the apparatus ofthe invention; and

Fig. 6 is a view taken along line 66 of Fig. 5.

Referring -to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, there is shown a package 6 of wirecomprising a cylindrical container 7 and magnet wire '8. The cylindricalcontainer is formed of a cylindrical outer shell 9 which forms thecylindrical walls of the container, a bottom closure 11, and acylindrical core 12. The cylindrical container may conveniently consistof a fiberboard barrel of the type which is commonly used for theshipment of materials in bulk. The cylindrical core is coaxiallypositioned in the cylindrical outer shell, and with it defines anannular space 13. A glue flap 14 may be provided to glue the cylindricalcore to the bottom closure so that the core is secured in place in thecontainer. Thereby, shifting of the core is prevented.

The magnet wire 8 is in a single length (perhaps made up of lengths thathave been joined together), and is coiled in substantially fiat spirallayers 16 which substantially till the annular space 13. The wire ineach of the layers 16 is in the form of an open spiral extending betweenthe cylindrical core and the cylindrical walls of the container andfills substantially the entire width of the annular space. The openspiral form of the layers 16 is best seen in Fig. 2, where the spiralform of the top layer of wire in the package 6 is shown. As the wire iswound in one direction about the spool (e. g. clockwise) the pitchdirection of the spiral coils is reversed from layer to layer, i. e. onelayer spirals out from the cylindrical core and the next spirals in fromthe walls of the cylindrical container. Thus, adjacent layers spiral inopposite directions so that the wire of one'layer crosses over the wireof the layer immediately below. This arrangement of the wire is seen inFig. 3 where the wires of layer 16b spiral in one direction and thewires of layer 16a spiral in the opposite direction. The crossing of thewire of adjacent layers tends to prevent wire of one layer from fallinginto the space between turns of lower layers, and so minimizes any riskthat the coils in the container may become locked together or entangled.

In the interest of clarity, only the top layer of magnet wire has beenshown in Fig. l and only two layers have been shown in Fig. 3. Actually,other layers would be seen in each of these views through the spacesbetween the turns of wire. Further, the magnet wire 8 will usually bemuch smaller in proportion to the size of the container than isindicated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. For example, in a typical case the Widthof the annular space is three or four inches and the magnet wire may be5 inch in diameter.

The package of the invention is characterized in that the wire in thecontainer is arranged in a stack of superposed substantially fla-tspiral coils. As a consequence of this arrangement considerably morewire is packaged in a cylindrical container of given size than has beenpossible heretofore. A package of wire according to the inventioncomprising, for example, a cylindrical container having an annular space20 inches in outside diameter, 13 inches in inside diameter, and 30inches in height, may contain about 750 pounds of enameled or equivalentfilm-insulated copper magnet wire (which corresponds to a bulk densityof about 240 pounds per cubic foot) whereas corresponding packages ofthis type of wire heretofore known contained not more than about 600pounds of wire (which corresponds to a bulk density of about 190 poundsper cubic foot). in accordance with the invention, bulk densities ofpackaged film-insulated copper magnet wire above 200 pounds per cubicfoot are readily and consistently obtained, as are correspondingly highbulk densities for other materials.

Fig. 4 shows apparatus suitable for packaging wire according to themethod of the invention. A wire 21 which is to be packaged according tothe. invention is fed into a container 31 by passing it between a drivewheel 22 and an idler 23. The drive Wheel is mounted on a shaft 24 whichis driven by a motor 26 through a sprocket chain 27 and gears 28. Theidler 23 presses the wire firmly into driving engagement against thedrive wheel 22 so that the wire is pushed by the drive wheel through aguide conduit 29.

The cylindrical container 31, shown partially broken away, is mounted ona container carrier 36 with the axis of the cylindrical containersubstantially vertical. The cylindrical container comprises an outercylindrical shell 32 and is provided with a cylindrical core 33positioned in the cylindrical container, forming an annular space 34therein. The container carrier 36 is mounted on a shaft 37 which isdriven by a belt 38.

The wire 21 is directed by the guide conduit 29 to a fixed point 39 overthe annular space 34. From the point 30, the Wire falls by gravity. Thecontainer rotates with the container carrier, and as it does so theadvancing wire emerging from the guide conduit 29 coils and drops intothe annular space of the container.

The belt 38, held taut by an idler 39, is driven by a variable speeddrive indicated at 40, so that the rate of rotation of the cylindricalcontainer may be alternately increased and decreased. The variable speeddrive comprises a variable diameter pulley unit 41 which is driven fromthe shaft 24 through a chain 42 connected to the pulley unit drive shaft43. This variable diameter pulley unit in turn drives the belt 38. Theoutput speed of the variable diameter pulley unit 41 '(and hence thespeed with which the carrier 36 is rotated) is cyclically increased anddecreased by alternately moving up and down the control arm 44 of thevariable diameter pulley mechanism. This operation in turn is eflfectedby rotation in alternately opposite directions of a control shaft 45.The shaft 45 is driven through a chain drive 46 and gearing 47, which inturn is connected through a variable speed drive nit 48 to a reversibleelectric motor 50. The motor is energized from a power line 51 through alimit switch assembly 52. Each time the control arm 44 reaches a limitof its travel, it engages the limit switch assembly and causes thedirection of the motor 50 to be reversed.

As stated above, it is preferred to cyclically increase at an increasingrate, and decrease at a decreasing rate, the rate of rotation of thecarrier 36. The variable speed drive unit 48 provides for doing so. Thecontrol shaft 55 of this unit, by which the speed of its output shaft 56may be varied, is connected by a sprocket chain drive 57 to its outputshaft. Accordingly, as the output shaft 56 turns in a direction toincrease the rate at which the carrier 36 is rotated through thevariable diameter pulley unit 41, the control shaft 55 is rotated in adirection to increase the rate at which the shaft 56 is itself rotated.When the shaft 56 is rotated in the opposite direction, so. that thevariable diameter pulley assembly 41 is being actuated to decrease therate of rotation of the carrier 36, the control shaft 55 is likewisebeing driven in the direction which causes the drive shaft 56 to slowdown. The apparatus thus provides automatically for cyclicallyincreasing the rate of rotation of the carrier 36 at a continuouslyincreasing rate and decreasing its rate of rotation at a continuouslydecreasing rate.

The device shown in Fig. 4 is adapted to feed the wire 21 into thecontainer 31 at aconstant rate, and to rotate the turntable at analternately increasing and decreasing rate. Figs. 5 and 6 show a secondembodiment of the invention in which the rate at which the Wire is fedinto the cylindrical container is alternately increased and de creasedwhile the cylindrical container is rotated at a constant rate.

In this apparatus (Fig. 5) the wire 66 passes between a drive wheel 67and idler 68. The drive wheel 67 is mounted to be rotated by a shaft 69.The idler68 presses the wire against the drive wheel 67 so that thewire. is

fed into a cylindrical container 71 mounted on a container carrier 76.The cylindrical container comprises an outer cylindrical shell 72 and isprovided with a core 73 'positioned in the cylindrical container formingan annular space 74 therein. The container carrier is mounted on a shaft78 which is driven by a motor 77.

The wire 66 is directed to a fixed point 70 over the annular space 74.From the point 70 the wire falls by gravity. The container rotates withthe carrier, causing the wire fed into the annular space of thecontainer to coil about the core.

The shaft 69 is driven by a belt 79 through a variable speed drive, theinput of which is driven by the motor 77, and which is so operated thatthe drive wheel 67 rotates at alternately increasing and decreasingrates. Thus, the wire 66 is fed to the container at alternatelyincreasing and decreasing rates.

The variable speed drive comprises a variable diameter pulley unit 81,for example, a Reeves variable diameter pulley; and a reversing motor84. The reversing motor 84 drives the control shaft 88 of the variablediameter pulley unit 81 through a gear reduction unit 86, and causes thecontrol shaft 88 to rotate cyclically first in one direction and then inthe other. The control shaft 88 actuates the control arm 89 of thevariable diameter pulley unit 81, moving it up and down according to thedirection of rotation of the control shaft 88, and this movement causesthe output speed of a variable diameter pulley unit 81 to cyclicallyincrease and decrease. A limit switch assembly 83 is mounted in positionto be engaged by the control arm 89 at its limits of travel, and isconnected to the motor 84 and a power line 82, so as to reverse thedirection of rotation of the reversing motor 84 each time the controlarm has been brought to the position corresponding to maximum or minimumdesired speed of rotation of the shaft 69.

As stated above, when the container is rotated at a substantiallyconstant rate and the linear velocity of the wire is varied, it ispreferable to cyclically increase and. decrease the linear velocity ofthe Wire at a uniform rate. The variable diameter pulley unit 81 and thereversing motor 84 provide for operating in this manner. As the controlshaft 88 rotates first in one direction and then in the other accordingto the direction of rotation of the reversing motor 84, the variablediameter pulley unit 81 causes the rate of rotation of the shaft 69 toalternately increase at a uniform rate and then decrease at a uniformrate. Thereby, the rate of rotation of drive Wheel 67 is variedaccordingly, so that the linear velocity of the wire being fed to thecontainer 71 alternately increases at a uniform rate and then decreasesat a uniform rate.

In the form of apparatus shown in Fig. 5, the cyclic variation in thespeed with which the drive wheel 67 is rotated requires that the speedwith which the wire is taken from its source of supply must becyclically increased and decreased. In many packaging operations, suchas where the Wire is packaged directly at the output end of the machineon which the last manufacturing operation is performed, it isinconvenient to vary the speed with which wire is delivered from themanufacturing machine. For this purpose an accumulator device isdesirable, to gather in the wire being delivered at a constant rate fromthe manufacturing machine, and to feed it at an alternately increasingand decreasing rate to the packaging machine. A form of accumulator forthis purpose is shown inFigs. 5 and 6.

This accumulator comprises vertical columns 92, a lower shaft 93 and anupper shaft 94. Each of these shafts extends between the columns andcarries a plurality of pulley wheels 96 which are mounted so that theyare each free to rotate relative to each other on the respective shafts.The lower shaft 93 is fixedly mounted between the columns 92. The uppershaft 94 extends through slots 97 in the columns 92 and is mounted sothat it is movable up and down throughout the height of the slots.

The shaft 94 is suspended from pulleys99 which are fixedly mounted abovethe slots 97 onthe columns 92. The wire 66 passes up and down over thepulleys as is indicated in Fig. 6, and then passes under the guide wheel(Fig. 5) to the drive wheel 67. Weights 98 aresuspended from thepulleys'99 and over-balance the rodq94 and the pulleys mounted thereonso that the wire passing over the pulleys 96 is always under tension.

When wire is passed into the accumulator faster than it is being takenout, the weights 98 lift the upper shaft 94 and so increase the lengthof wire carried by the array of pulleys 96. Vice versa, when wire isdrawn from the accumulator at a faster rate than it is being fedthereto, the Weights are pulled up as the amount of wire carried by thepulley array decreases.- i p I According to the method of the inventionthe ratio of the rate at which the container is rotated and the'rate atwhich the wire is fed into the container is alternately increased anddecreased between a maximum and minimum rate. As this ratio is increasedfrom a minimum to a maximum rate wire fed into the container falls alonga curved path of ever decreasing radius of curvature (i. e. the Wirespirals in from the cylindrical walls of the container). After thisratio has reached the maximum, it is decreased, and as it decreases thewire tends to fall along a curved path of ever increasing radius ofcurvature (i. e. the wire spirals out to the cylindrical walls of thecontainer). In order to obtain substantially flat superposed layers ofwire, the minimum ratio must always be such that the peripheral velocityof the container (i. e. the velocity of the inside surface of thecylindrical container wall) is greater than the linear velocity at whichthe wire is fed into the container; for, otherwise, the wire would tendto fall along a path having a radius of curvature greater than theradius of the container and, as the container wall would preclude thewire following such a path, the wire would hump up and not form a flatlayer. Similarly, the maximum ratio must not exceed that at which theperipheral velocity of the outside surface of the container core isequal to the linear velocity of the wire fed into the container,otherwise the wire will be pulled tightly against the container core anddamage to either the wire or its packaging is likely to result.

The rate of change from minimum to maximum of the ratio of the rate atwhich the container is rotated to the rate at which wire is fed into thecontainer determines the spacing between turns of the spiral, and may beadjusted as desired. The rate at which this ratio is changed shouldpreferably be of sufficient magnitude so that each turn of a spiralfalls outside (or inside) the preceding turn (i. e. when the radius ofcurvature of the path which the wire tends to follow is decreasing, themagnitude of the rate at which the ratio is being increased should besufficient so that each turn of the spiral falls inside the precedingturn; and when the radius of curvature of the path which the wire tendsto follow is increasing, the magnitude of the rate at which the ratio isbeing decreased should be sufficient so that each turn of the spiralfalls outside the preceding turn).

As stated above,,when the container is rotated at a substantiallyconstant rate and the linear velocity of the wire is varied it ispreferable to cyclically increase and decrease the linear velocity ofthe wire at a uniform rate (we shall refer to operation in this manneras case I), whereas, when the wire is fed into the container at asubstantially constant rate and the container is rotated at a varyingrate, it is preferable to cyclically increase at an increasing rate anddecrease at a decreasing rate the rate of rotation of the container (weshall refer to operation in this manner as case 11). Our explanation forthis difference is as follows: In both of these cases, at any instant,theangular velocity A (in radians per second) of the container, thedesired radius R (in feet) of the particular turn of the spiral beingformed, and the linear velocity V (in feet per second) with which thewire is being advanced into the container, should be so related that theequation R A=V is substantially satisfied. Also in both cases, it ispreferred that R should increase or decrease uniformly with eachrevolution of the container. In case I, therefore, as the angularvelocity A of the container is constant with respect to time, R mustvary uniformly with time. Thus, in case I, R varies uniformly withrespect to time, A is constant, and as V=RXA, V varies uniformly withrespect to time. case II, however, the angular velocity A is variablewith respect to time, so R, to vary by a uniform amount with eachrevolution, must vary non-uniformly with respect to time; and as V isconstant, in order that R A=V, A must vary non-uniformly with respect totime.

It is immaterial insofar as the present invention is concerned whetherthe rate at which the wire is fed into the container is varied while thecontainer is rotated at a constant rate, or whether the rate at whichthe container is rotated is varied while the wire is fed into it at aconstant rate. Varying the rate at which the wire is fed into thecontainer has the disadvantage that it is necessary to continuouslyaccelerate and decelerate the mass of wire in the container which may beon the average several hundred pounds. However, the extra mechanicalcomplexities introduced by the use of an accumulator and the coldworking of the wire incident to its passage through such a device,generally ofisets such disadvantage and may make it advisable to varythe rate at which the container is rotated while feeding the wire intothe container at a constant rate.

We claim:

I. The method of packaging filamentary material in a stack ofsubstantially flat spiral coils disposed one over the other in anannular portion of a cylindrical container, which comprises rotating thecontainer at a peripheral velocity which at all times exceeds the linearvelocity at which the material is fed into the container, feeding thematerial to a fixed point positioned above the annular portion of thecontainer and fixed with respect to the axis of the container, causingthe material to pass solely by gravity from said fixed point into saidannular portion of the container, and alternately increasing anddecreasing the ratio of the rate at which the container is rotated andthe rate at which the material is fed into the container, whereby saidmaterial is spirally coiled in the container in the form of a stack ofsubstantially flat superposed layers.

2. The method of winding filamentary material in a cylindrical containerin the form of a stack of substantially fiat spiral coils disposed oneover the other, which comprises feeding said material to a fixed pointpositioned above the container and fixed with respect to the axis of thecontainer, causing the material to pass solely by gravity from saidfixed point into said container at a substantially constant linearvelocity, rotating the container at a peripheral velocity which at alltimes exceeds the linear velocity at which the material is fed into thecontainer, and alternately increasing and decreasing the rate at whichsaid container is rotated, whereby said material is spirally coiled inthe container in the form of a stack of substantially flat superposedlayers.

3. The method of packaging filamentary material in a stack ofsubstantially flat spiral coils disposed one over the other in acylindrical container, which comprises feeding said materialto a fixedpoint positioned above the annular portion of the container and fixedwith respect to the axis of the container, causing the material to passsolely by gravity from said fixed point into said container, rotatingthe container at a peripheral velocity which at all times exceeds thelinear velocity at which the material is fed into the container, andalternately increasing at an increasing rate of increase and 8decreasing at a decreasing rate of decrease the ratio of the rate atwhich the container is rotated and the rate at which the material is fedinto the container, whereby said material is laid in the container inthe form of a stack of superposed substantially flat spiral coils ineach of which the turns are substantially evenly spaced.

4. The method of packaging wire in the form of a stack of substantiallyflat spiral coils disposed one over the other in a cylindricalcontainer, which comprises feeding the wire to a fixed point positionedabove the container and fixed with respect to the axis of the container,causing the material to pass solely by gravity from said fixed pointinto the container at a substantially constant linear velocity, rotatingthe container at a peripheral velocity which at all times exceeds thelinear velocity at which the wire is fed into the container, andcyclically varying the rate at which said container is rotated byalternately increasing at an increasing rate of increase and decreasingat a decreasing rate of decrease its rate of rotation while feeding thewire into the container at said constant linear velocity, whereby saidwire is laid in the container in the form of a stack of superposedsubstantially flat spiral coils in each of which the turns aresubstantially evenly spaced.

5. The method of packaging wire in the form of a stack of substantiallyflat spiral coils disposed one over the other in a cylindricalcontainer, which comprises feeding the wire to a fixed pointsubstantially above the annular portion of the container and fixed withrespect to the axis of the container, causing the material to passsolely by gravity from said fixed point into the container, cyclicallyincreasing and decreasing the rate at which said wire is fed into saidcontainer, rotating the container at a constant rate of rotation and ata peripheral velocity which at all times exceeds the linear velocity atwhich the wire is fed into the container, whereby said Wire is laid inthe container in the form of a stack of superposed substantially flatspiral coils in each of which the turns are substantially evenly spaced.

6. The method of packaging wire in the form of a stack of substantiallyflat spiral coils disposed one over the other in the annular spacebetween a cylindrical core and a cylindrical container wherein said coreis coaxially positioned, which comprises feeding the Wire to a fixedpoint positioned above the annular space and fixed with respect to theaxis of the container, causing the material to pass solely by gravityfrom said fixed point into said annular space, rotating the container ata peripheral velocity which at all times exceeds the linear velocity atwhich wire is fed into the container, and cyclically varying the rate atwhich said container is rotated by alternately increasing said rate atan increasing rate of increase and decreasing said rate at a decreasingrate of decrease, the rate of rotation of said container being variedbetween a lower limit at which the peripheral speed of the containerwall is about equal to the speed of the wire fed into the container andan upper limit at which the peripheral speed of the core is about equalto the speed of the wire fed into the container, whereby said wire islaid in the container in the form of a stack of superposed substantiallyflat spiral coils in each of which the turns are substantially evenlyspaced.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,676,606 Albright July 10, 1928 1,691,995 Saulter Nov. 20, 19281,992,430 Johnson Feb. 26, 1935 2,132,573 McDonald Oct. 11, 19382,552,594 Scott May 15, 1951 2,722,729 Wilhelm Nov. 8, 1955

